Every church bookstore needs a business plan. Your business plan should address both philosophical and practical issues, such as vision and mission statements, goals, operations, policies and procedures, inventory and financial needs.

VISION/MISSION STATEMENTS
What is the purpose of your store? Why is it open in the first place?

Vision and mission statements will help clarify what you are trying to achieve with your store. An example might be: "To nurture the spiritual growth of the body by providing Christian books, Bibles, music and inspirational products to the church."

GOALS
What do you want to accomplish in the next few years? Goals are a measurable way to assess the store's progress and direction.
Make them SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-specific.

OPERATIONS
How is your store going to operate?

This might be an example for a start-up store: "We will be open on Sundays and Wednesdays immediately following worship services and large events at the church. The business administrator will oversee the bookstore. We will operate as 'Name of Church doing business as (dba) Name of Store.'

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
What are the guidelines that govern the operation of your store?

These are some example policies and procedures: "No returns without a receipt. The store will always have a manager on duty. Only the manager will deposit the money and only when another person is present. The money will be put into tamper-proof envelopes and given to the accounting department to be deposited into the bank."

INVENTORY
What products will you be selling in your store? How will you keep track of your inventory? What reports will you be giving each month to the church's accounting department? A business plan needs to be able to answer these questions.

FINANCIAL NEEDS
How much money is the church planning to invest in the store? What is the amount of money available to start the store? What is the size of your congregation? What is the size of your bookstore?

Provide a start-up budget and a five-year pro forma in the business plan. Also include a cash flow projection for the store. If you don't know how to do these, seek out a financial adviser that is a church member.

NEXT STEPS
When the business plan is complete, schedule a meeting with the board of your church. You need backing from all the pastors and the board.

Ultimately, the church bookstore belongs to God, so if you pray about your business plan, it will come together with God's hand in the process.

-Heidi Bodette is a regional director for the Church Bookstore Network. She started Daily Bread Books at Hosanna! Lutheran Church in Lakeville, Minn.

Read the complete article at http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=14337.